October 31, 1517

So what was the significance of the date October 31, 1517?  Maybe it was the first Halloween.  No, it was something much better and far more important.  It actually marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.  At this time there were no Protestants you were either a Roman Catholic or a pagan.

Then on October 31, 1517 a German monk named Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg.  Luther simply wanted a debate but he never got one.  The 95 Theses especially opposed indulgences.  Indulgences were sold by the Catholic church for the pardon of sin.  People were being taught they could reduce their time in purgatory if they bought an indulgence or they could even reduce the time in purgatory for someone who had already died.  I must point out that the idea of purgatory is not taught in the Bible.  People were led to believe that they had to earn their salvation.  With people being lead astray like this Luther could not stay silent.  

Martin Luther actually set out to reform the Roman Catholic Church.  He did not intend to leave it.  But as he went along the differences between his beliefs and the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church only widened.  As he studied the Bible he rediscovered the doctrine of justification by faith alone.  He found that it was an alien righteousness that justified us before God.  It was the righteousness of Christ that we must have in order to be saved.  Christ takes our sin and gives us his righteousness when we place our faith in him alone.  Luther also discovered the theology of the cross as opposed to the theology of glory.  Luther's teaching quickly spread throughout Germany, Europe, and eventually the world.  

The Roman Catholic Church was not pleased with the teaching of Martin Luther.  In 1521 at the Diet of Worms it was demanded that Luther recant his writings.  Luther refused to recant his writings saying that unless he was convinced by Scripture or plain reason he would not.  He said his conscience was captive to the Word of God.  In his closing line he said here I stand.  One man stood against the Roman Catholic Church and the empire.  Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther and condemned him as a heretic.  Charles V put him under the imperial ban.  This meant that Luther could be killed at any time.  Luther lived under this for the rest of his life until he died in 1546.  

Many great doctrines were recovered in the Reformation.  Scripture alone is authoritative and not the Roman Catholic Church with its Pope and councils.  Salvation is by grace alone.  It is an undeserved gift from God and totally his work.  We are justified by faith alone and not by our own works.  Salvation is found in Christ alone and there is nothing we can add to it.  Christ and his work on the cross are totally sufficient.  Finally it is to God alone belongs the glory. It is important to understand that these ideas were very radical at the time.  They were not the accepted teaching as most modern evangelicals would assume.  The Roman Catholic Church also tried to keep the Bible out of the hands of the people.  They only allowed it to be translated into Latin.  Luther translated it into German and other Reformers translated it into other languages.  

Evangelical Protestants should remember October 31 as Reformation Day.  It marks the beginning of the Protestant Reformation which was led by its architect Martin Luther.  Luther's stand changed the church and the world.  Biblical Christianity was recovered during the Reformation.  As we look to Luther, Luther points us to Christ.